Built on one of the principal streets of the seaport of
Marblehead in 1768, this handsome Georgian structure served as home
and office to a wealthy shipowner and distinguished patriot, Jeremiah Lee.
A personal friend of George Washington, Lee helped to bankroll the
American revolt against King George until his untimely death in 1776. This
photo shows the ashlar siding of the house (wide wooden clapboards carved to resemble
stone blocks) and its dignified Ionic portico. The interior of the mansion
features beautifully carved paneling--ornate ears and swags, candle
sconces, impressive fireplaces--in pine, hand-grained to look like oak;
and the original wallpaper, hand-painted with classical scenes and
imported from France in Colonel Lee's own ships. Listed on the National
Register of Historic Places, and lovingly preserved by the
Marblehead Historical Society,
the house is furnished throughout with period antiques. Now serving as a museum of town history, this stately home
is open to the public from May through October. Since this photo was taken, it has been repainted with an over-all grey pigment mixed with sand, which adds a stone-like texture to the mansion's ashlar siding.
The Jeremiah Lee mansion played host to the Marquis de Lafayette on his return visit to America in the 1820s, and the whole town turned out to feast and fête the Marquis.
The downtown area of Marblehead is almost completely composed of pre-Civil War frame houses; but the furthest downtown, from the site of the Lee Mansion to Fort Sewall and old Barnegat, is almost entirely of pre-Revolutionary origin and remarkably well preserved. Fishermen's and boatwrights' homes huddle side by side on the brown basalt ledge, overlooking the dramatic harbor. Of the many historic houses, all are private homes except the Lee Mansion and the King Hooper Mansion, kitty-corner across the street, headquarters of the Marblehead Arts Association. One of the few nearly intact 18th-century towns in America, Marblehead makes an interesting day trip from Boston, or a longer visit in yachting season.
The Jeremiah Lee Mansion on a snowy winter morning.